Champagne class

I am confused by the champagne terms 8216;brut8217; and 8216;extra dry8217;. Which is drier, and does non-vintage mean lower quality?
Brut refers to the driest champagne, and non-vintage is more accurately described as a multi-vintage blend. Champagne houses blend older reserve wines with younger ones to strike the right balance of mellow complexity with youthful freshness. The percentages of the major grape varieties8212;pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier8212;are also adjusted to add nuance and body.

I8217;ve had an unopened bottle of champagne in my refrigerator for about five years. Is it still good?
Tell me it8217;s not Dom Perignon. While it8217;s okay to forget a bottle of champagne in the refrigerator for a few months, it8217;s disastrous to do that over a long period of time. The constant vibration of the compressor pushes the gas past the cork, and the low humidity lets the cork dry out, allowing air to oxidize the wine. The only way to judge is to pop the cork and try it. If a bottle does not pop when opened, it is unfit to drink or cook with.

When I pour champagne, the bubbles are frothy in some glasses and seem to dissipate in others, even though the glasses are identical. Is that a problem? Yes. When you buy a good champagne, part of what you are paying for are the clouds of bubbles. The better the wine, the tinier and more ebullient the bubbles. You don8217;t want to lose them. Soap residue and rinse conditioners from washing are the usual culprits. After every wash, rinse your glasses several times in clear water. If that doesn8217;t work, consider buying new, tulip-shaped flutes made of genuine crystal rather than ordinary glass. The microscopically coarser surface of crystal provides rough edges for launching all those gorgeous bubbles.

LAT-WP